Bottle-stopper.



J. s. PORTER.

BOTTLE STOPPER. APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1010.

Am 1 9 1 .7" y 1 H J d B LIU n m P T NORRIS PETIRJ CO P HOTO-LIYHON WASHINOTUN, D C.

JAMES SLOANE PORTER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 24, 1910.

Patented July '7, 1 914.

Serial No. 588,591.

To all to 71. om it may concern Be it known that I, .l amns Sloane POW (run, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a bottle stopper of that character which is designed to prevent refilling, or at least render it dillicult to refill, the bottle after more or less of its con tents has been emptied therefrom.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide a bottle of this kind at a cost which would not render its use prohibitive for the particular goods which are to be bottled and still provide protection against refilling the bottle with spurious or inferior goods.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1. is a fragmentary vertical section of the bottle and stopper embodying my invention, the section being taken in line 11, Fig. 3, and the parts being in the position which they occupy when the bottle stands upright. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when pouring out the contents of the bottle, this section being taken in line 22, Fig. 3. Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections taken in lines 3-3 and 4--4t, respectively, in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of the two dogs and the associated cork spring whereby the plug of the bottle stopper is held against extraction from the neck of the bottle. Fig.6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the plug pushed only partway toward its home position in the neck and showing the position of the dogs while introducing the plug into the neck of the bottle.

Similarletters of reference indicate cor responding parts throughout the several views.

A represents the body of the bottle and B the reduced neck at the upper end of the body. About midway of the length of the neck the same is provided with an annular enlargement C within its bore thereby forming a downwardly facing shoulder c at the upper end of this enlargement. At the lower end of the neck its bore is provided with an upwardly facing valve seat D which is preferably of substantially semi-spherical form and surrounded by an annular shoulder d which faces outwardly.

E represents a cylindrical plug constructed of any suitable material and fitted with its periphery into the bore of the neck and hearing at its lower end against the upwardly facing shoulder (Z thereof. This plug is of such length that when the same is pushed fully into the neck its lower end projects below the enlargement C while its upper end projects above said enlargement leaving a space 0 within the neck above the plug which is adapted to receive a cork such as is ordinarily used for closing a bottle. The lower end of the plug is provided with a downwardly opening cavity F which corn muuicates at its upper end with the lower end of the enlargement in the neck by means of an annular row of radial or laterally extending passages or openings f. At its upper end the plug is provided with a plu rality of lmlgitudinal peripheral grooves or passages 5 each of which extends from the upper part of the enlargement in the neck to the upper end of the plug.

Upon tilting the bottle the liquid passes from the body through the valve seat, the cavity F, openings f, enlargement C, grooves and through the outer end of the neck. When the bottle is in its upright position communication between the interior of the bottle and the exterior thereof is cut off by in ams of a valve H which is preferably of spherical form and engages with the spherical scat D of the neck. This valve is normally held against its seat by the weight of a pendant or tail I which projects downwardly and laterally in a curve from the underside of the valve in the form of a crank. This pendant operates not only to hold the valve against its seat by gravity when the bottle is in its upright position but also when the bottle is tipped into a horizontal position in which last mentioned position the pendant, owing to its crank shape, tends to engage the inner side of the breast of the bottle by gravity and thus hold the valve in its closed position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. When, however, the bottle is tipped more or less beyond a horizontal position the weight of the valve together with the outward pressure of the liquid against the same preponderates over the weight of the pendant and causes the valve to be pushed open and the pendant to be pulled outwardly on the breast of the bottle, thereby uncovering the valve opening and permitting the liquid to escape from the bottle The pendant of the valve will operate in this manner regardless of the position into which the bottle may be turned about its longitudinal axis inasmuch as the pendant will slide circumterentially around the breast of the bottle and always engage with the lowermost part thereof by gravity, thereby always holding the valve in its closed position until it is tipped beyond a l'iorizontal position or nearly so.

In order to permit the valve to open a sutlicient extent to provide a free outflow of liquid and at the same time reduce the extent of its opening movement, with due regard to compactness of the closing device as a whole, the upper side of the valve is provided with a flat face j which is adapted to engage with the lower end of a stop or pin J which depends from the central part of the top of the cavity in the lower end of the plug, as shown in Fig. 2. The annular enlargement in the neck together with the upper and lower passages and the lower cavity of the plug form a serpentine or tortuous passage from the exterior to the interior of the bottle which renders it exceedingly diflicult, if not impossible, to pass a wire to the valve for the purpose of preventing its closure in attempting to refill the same. For the purpose of still further guarding against the possibility of introducing a wire into the bottle through the tortuous passage and tampering with the valve, the lower end of the enlargement C is extended some distance below the lower side of the openings f in the plug, thereby forming trap recesses or pockets 7Q into which the front; end of the wire enters when the same is pushed downwardly through the enlargementand whereby this wire is caught and prevented from passing through the openings f and reaching the valve.

Various means may be employed for holding the plug against retraction out of the neck of the bottle after it has once been fully pushed into the same. The preferred means for this purpose which are shown in the drawings are constructed as follows L represents the pocket extending transversely through the upper part of the plug from side to side thereof and between the longitudinal passages g. The location of this pocket is such that when the plug is pushed into its innermost position within the neck the upper side of this pocket will be in line with the shoulder 0 at the upper end of the enlargement, as shown in Fig. 1. At opposite ends of the pocket are arranged two detent dogs, or pawls m each of which is preferably constructed in the form of a diamond having equilateral sides. Within the central part of the pocket and engaging with the inner ends of the dogs is a spring a which is preferably constructed of a piece of cork. Preparatory to introducing the plug into the neck the two dogs are pushed inwardly from opposite sides of the plug and also tilted upwardly, so that their outer edges are arranged vertically and engage with the bore of the bottle upon being pushed into the same and the inneredges thereof are also vertical and compress the cork spring which is interposed between the two dogs, as shown in Fig. 6. The dogs remain in this position until the upper outer corners thereof pass below the upper shoulders c in the neck of the bottle at which point the dogs are released and swing downwardly and outwardly by gravity, aided by the resilience of the cork spring '11, thereby projecting the outer parts of these dogs into the enlarge ment C of the neck; During this turning movement of the dogs the same swing on their inner lower corners resting on the bot tom of the pocket L as a fulcrum. When the pawls are thus swung outwardly and downwardly, their inner and outer edges incline outwardly while their lower edges are horizontal and rest on the bottom of the pocket and their upper edges are also horizontal and are adapted to engage adjacent to the upper outer corners thereof with the downwardly facing shoulder 0 of the neck, if it should be attempted to withdraw the plug from the neck, thereby preventing such operation. The pocket L is made sufl'iciently high to permit of this vertical turning movement of the dogs and it is also of substantially the same width as the dogs so as to prevent the latter from becoming displaced in the pocket but insuring guiding of the same into their operative position when the plug has been pushed fully into its home position within the neck of the bottle.

By making the spring a of cork there is no liability of affecting the character of the goods in the bottle as would bethe case if metal or other material would be used for packing some kinds of liquids. Furthermore, the use of cork insures the prompt turning of the dogs into their operative position inasmuch as corkis not liable to become set when the same is inactive for some time. If, however, the cork, owing to inaccuracy in workmanship, should fail to perform its function to the fullest extent the dogs would nevertheless drop into their interlocking position by gravity and operate as a preventive against the withdrawal of the plug.

I claim as my invention:

The combination of a bottle having its neck provided in the upper part of its bore with an enlargement forming a downwardly facing locking shoulder and in the lower part of its bore with a valve seat, a valve engaging said seat, a plug arranged in the bore of said neck above said seat and provided with a diametrical opening in line with said shoulder, two locking dogs arranged in opposite ends of said opening and each when bottle and in engagement with the bore of its neck While placing the plug in the neck.

\Vitness my hand this 21st day of October, 1910.

JAMES SLOANE PORTER.

Witnesses:

'lrmo. L. POPP, ANNA Hmers.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

